Lucidian War (UW)
The Lucidian War was a conflict fought between the Lucid Empire led by its National Socialist leader Waldemarr Rald, against a coalition of powers led by the Haosian Federation. The conflict, fought throughout the majority of 1995 DC, saw the destruction of the Lucidian imperial government led by the Junkers and later the Fatherland & Worker's Party, and ultimately, the destruction of the Keyblade Order of the Iron Cross, representing Lucidian pride for the Empire for over a century. The post-Lucidian War era, ultimately culminating in the majority of conflicts over the next three decades, would stem from revanchist Lucidian pan-Nationalists and technologies. Background Lucidian Expansion From the start of the 20th century, Lucidia had gone from a recently unified nation-state to a powerful industrialized nation after the two wars it had previously waged with the Union of the Realm of Light. During the Haos War (1905-1910 DC) and the Second Great War (1932-1947 DC), Lucidia developed their military and building robust industries and a WMD arsenal, proving enough to become the third superpower in the Cold War between it, the Realm of Light & the Heartless Empire. Motives of expansion and Lucidian Nationalism led it to class with the countries to the east over territorial and self-determination issues in the 60's The mastermind behind this operation was its Kaiser, Louis Ferdinand, and the Conservative-Junker Coalition (Centrist Party, Nationalist Party & Conservative Party) which dominated Lucidian politics throughout the 60's and 70's. It was under the Conservatives that the Lucidian Empire would adopt a federal format, achieved in 1980. The Lucidians, in an attempt to one up their rivals in the Cold War, launched a series of black projects concerning advanced battlefield technology, new skills and magicks for the Keyblade Order of the Iron Cross and development of new delivery systems for their Weapons of Mass Destruction, even going as far as weaponizing Dark Matter, which all but replaced nuclear weapons and other such weapons. These tactics were made to deter foreign invasion, and were developed at the South Lucidian Munitions Factory. Three main projects came through during this military development period: *Project Excalibur, which led to the development of the Excalibur anti-ballistic and anti-ship Chemical Laser Tower, built in the Tauberg Forest. *Project Hræsvelgr, which led to the development of the XB-0, named Hresvelgr, a prototype Heavy Command Cruiser designed to compete with the Realm of Light's top secret Hubert-class Heavy Command Cruiser. *Project Pendragon, which was the name of two projects. The first project was an Ubermensch project which focused on creating super-soldiers for the Lucidians. The second project focused on WMD delivery systems, leading to the V2 Multiple-Launch Independent Re-entry Vehicle platform. This project was personally led by Dr. Anton Kupchenko. The massive allocation of funds to the pacification and Lucidization of their recently conquered territories, in addition to the increasing military R&D Projects led to the Imperial Law Review of Calendar Year 25140, signed into law on 8 December 1987 and implemented on 17 December. The act devolved political power to the Eastern Territories and ordered the withdrawal of their militaries to their home worlds. Lucidian Economic Crisis Contrary to the Lucidian military's true intentions, the black projects had the unforeseen consequence of unleashing an economic recession that rapidly engulfed the Empire. Within two years of the start of the Black Projects in 1985 DC, the crisis grew to such a point that the Lucidian Reichstag sought to containing my amending Imperial Law, which led to the Law Review in 1988. The law provided for the founding of new nations, The Empire of Gebetia on 8 February 1988 with Mons as its capital (recognized by Lucidia on 12 February) and the Republic of Jovia on 12 May 1988 with Directus as its capital (recognized by Lucidia on the same day. It's final borders would not be formalized until the 16 December 1991 with the Treaty of Minga. The aftermath of the divisions was followed by the establishment of cordial relations between the governments in Walküre and Disney. However, the true intentions of the Haosian government, then under Chancellor-Sultan Harun V of Agrabah in their rapprochement were to verify the rumors of mineral resources existing within a small chain of worlds within Jovia's territories, which drove them to agitate and back the ongoing internal separatist movements in Lucidia after its birth. On 21 August 1991, Lucidia sold a portion of Nord Lucidia to the neighboring Kingdom of Brunies, and portions of South Lucidia to the seceding nations. That same day, the Lucidian Government under then Chancellor Petra Bangemann agreed to sell the Five Great Lake Worlds & the world of the Crescence Islands to the Realm of Light despite the historic territorial dispute that existed between then since the Haos War, after it decided that the subsequent dividend rate would significantly benefit it. The worsening economic situation led to nationwide riots from mid-August protesting the lack of solutions to the recession. At some point during late August 1991, The Realm of Light & Lucidia jointly formed the Five Great Lakes Development Corporation business group, which was eventually closed between 1 and 3 September as a result of intentional underfunding and fabricated financial forecast reports from the Haosians in an attempt to obtain the lands. The collapse of the corporation unraveled a political scandal that was rapidly denounced by the Fatherland and Workers Party, which became the largest opposition party in the country by that point. Crowds of over 40,000 people, Fatherland supporters and civilians alike, marched against the Reichstag demanding the immediate removal of the ruling cabinet amidst increased sentiments of hatred against the Realm of Light and a perceived weakness against the government of Disney and its independent countries. In response to the Five Great Lakes crisis, the Assembly called for an emergency election scheduled for December of 1991. The Workers Party won a large majority of the seats, eventually leading to their ascension to power in February 1992 with Waldemarr Rald assuming control of the country. For the next few years, the new Lucidian government assumed a far-rightist stance against its former allies, bolstering its military and economy while searching for ways to terminate the economic crisis, this was further bolstered with the support of the Crown Prince, Friedrich. Tensions with the independent territories were high, leading to border skirmishes with the Jovian military. Outbreak of War In the early winter months of 1995 DC, a Jovian commission discovered a large source of rare-earth minerals and coal in several worlds in Jovia, with most of these located in the Southern-most part of Lucidia's border with Jovia. This region was designated as Jovian Priority One Strategic Area B7R . The Rald Government, believing that it would be the solution to Lucidia's troubles, declared war on Jovia on 25 March 1995 DC. Declarations of war were also made on her allies, the Realm of Light as well as its former territories. This would be followed by launching a massive blitzkrieg assault led by the Lucidian Knights. Military Capacity of the Lucid Empire Order of the Iron Cross The Empire of Lucidia had always taken pride in its military, ever since the legendary successes of the Walkürean Knights in the many wars prior to its formal unification of Lucidia in 1871 DC. At the core of it's military was the Keyblade Order of the Iron Cross. Unlike a traditional Keyblade Order however, not all of its members were Keyblade Knights. In fact, the majority of members within the order were notable military officers and Conservative Junker nobility, 60% of them being Keyblade Wielders. This arrangement allowed the position of the Grand Master to reside solely with the Lucidian Kaiser, a form that had been in place since the formation of the Order. The Order itself however was decentralized. While there was a council with members, (originally 12, raised to 16 in 1910 DC, and 25 in 1978 DC) the Main Order was largely superficial, as a great deal of power was delegated to various smaller Orders, a result of the federal monarchical structure that existed throughout the history of the Reich. In total there were 52 smaller Keyblade Orders under the umbrella of the Order of the Iron Cross. Kaiserlich Luzide Heer: The Imperial Lucidian Army The Lucidian Army of 1995 was relatively unchanged from the army when the Empire was first formed in 1871 DC. The Kingdom of Walküre assumed direct control over 90% of the armies of the Empire. The only armies that remained autonomous was the Armies of the Kingdoms of Ivrea & Talisea in South Lucidia, & the Kingdom of Aurenia in North Lucidia. The overall commander, with the exception of Talisea, was the Kaiser, and was assisted by the Imperial Military Cabinet, and exercised control through the Ministry of War and the Great General Staff. Only Talisea retained their own General Staff and War Ministry, but coordinated greatly with the Walküreans. The command and control system of the Walkürean Army had been heavily reformed in the wake of the defeats suffered by Walküre in the Great Lucidian War (1795-1820 DC). Rather than rely primarily on the martial skills of the individual members of the Lucidian nobility, who dominated the military profession, the Walkürean Army instituted a series of reforms to ensure excellence in leadership, organization and planning at all levels of command. The General Staff system, an institution that sought to institutionalize military excellence, was the main result. It sought to identify military talent at the lower levels and develop it thoroughly through academic training and practical experience as planners on division, corps and higher staffs, up to the Great General Staff, the senior planning body of the army. It provided effective planning and organizational work during peacetime and wartime. The Walkürean General Staff, proven in the battles of the Lucidian Wars of Unification, effectively became the Lucidian Imperial General Staff upon formation of the Lucid Empire. The Army also retained command of their land-based air force, the Luzide Luftstreitkräfte. Unlike their Navy counterparts, the purpose of the Luftstreitkräfte was to defend the individual worlds of where they were based from enemy attack. Kaiserliche Marine: The Imperial Lucidian Navy The Kaiserliche Marine was built upon Walküre's small navy, and later the Walkürean League/Nordluzidean Bundesmarine, which had the primary objective of internal defense. It was through Kaiser Wilhelm II (1888-1918 DC) that the Navy was expanded greatly, and enlarged its mission. The Key Leader of the Navy behind this project was Peter von Tirpitz , who adopted the same theories of Naval combat from the Haosians during the the Haosian War (1905-1910 DC). Under Wilhelm II, the Navy established the Imperial Naval High Command in 1889 DC, to be replaced with the Imperial Admiralty Staff in 1899 DC. Great expansions were made to the Lucidian Navy ships, who used innovative designs, including setting the standard for the first Heavy Command Cruiser (the Graf Spee). Successive Naval bills continued to modernize the Lucidian Navy, and positions of Admiralty were headed often times by the members of the Order of the Iron Cross. It was through them that led to the modern development of the Lucidian Marines and Naval Air Arm, both of which served with distinction during the Lucidian War. Volunteer Services: Despite Lucidia's provocative actions diplomatically isolating them from the international community, the Lucidians did manage to gain a sizeable number of foreign volunteers to aid in their war efforts. The primary group of volunteers came from, ironically enough, the Heartless Empire. Despite the efforts of Tsar Aleksandr IV to curb the removal of his subjects to join the Lucidians, as much as 600,000 Heartless nationals fought for the Lucid Empire, the largest contingent of foreign volunteers fighting for them. Many were prisoners or political opponents of the Tsar, and proved their mettle in many battles, chief of which included Operation Battleaxe. Of the Heartless volunteers, 150,000 of them were Killed or Missing in Action. Other than the Heartless Empire, Lucidia also saw volunteers from San Salvacion (50,000) & Plantagenia (130,000). The Allied Forces The Allied forces were the umbrella term for all forces fighting against the Lucidian Empire. The Allies were officially formed in 31 March, due to the shock and surprise of the Lucidian blitzkrieg. Ultimately led by universal superpower Haos, the Allies were able to coordinate their attacks and ultimately bring down the Lucid Empire. Haosian Federation The Haosian Federation was the closest rival to the Lucidians, and was one whom shared a lot of history of hostility. It was the Realm of Light under Chancellor-King Ansem VII of Radiant Garden that bore the brunt, the majority of combat against the Lucidians throughout the war. Sixty million soldiers from across the expanse of the nation took part in the conflict, under the command of Keyblade Master Xeanhort . Xeanhort, who later became the Allied Supreme Commander, despite earlier defeats, was able to force the Lucidians into a war of attrition of which their opponents could not win. It was other great military commanders, such as Colonel Maximillian Thermidor of Traversia and Air Commander Joshua Bristow of Disney who ultimately added in the final victory. The Haosian Military was the only military involved in the war that did not have a Keyblade Order, which was abolished by Chancellor, Augustus Thermidor in 1913. Despite this fact, many Keyblade Knights served as commanders (it was law for Keyblade Wielders to automatically serve as officers, but only starting at the rank of Second Lieutenant.) It had the use of many elite units, such as the Haosian Marines, the Rifles regiment and their elite Artillery and Bomber Squadrons. The Heartless Empire of Umbra The Heartless Empire of Umbra under Aleksandr IV declared war on Lucidia. Although an informal member of the allies, the Umbrans figured that it would gain a great deal of eliminating one potential threat to its Empire in favor of the "enemy it knows". The Heartless Expeditionary force, numbering in as upwards as 30 million, took part in the war, and was led by the Arbiter, the Grand Duchess Natalia Crossnova . She was the overall commander of the Heartless forces and the one responsible for the assault on the nominal South Lucidian capital of Sudentor at the time of the "Seven Pillars" Incident on 6 June. The Heartless Military focused more on a doctrine of Firepower over Mobility unlike Lucidia or their other major allies. the Heartless primarily focused on its infantry with some use of mobility with it's tanks and special forces. This comes into focus with the Varyag Special Forces, of which was led personally by Natalia Crossnov of the Heartless Empire, and whom within its ranks contained two members who later became Arbiters of their own right, Dagr Scinfaxi & Nott Hrimfaxi . Empire of the Great Eastern Cloud The Empire of the Great Eastern Cloud, like the Heartless Empire, employed its own Expeditionary force to assist its long term ally, the Realm of Light. The Xianese Expeditionary Force, numbering roughly 15 million, compromised the 3rd largest force behind both superpowers, despite only counting only 2% of its military. Their personal skills and battlefield training also proved to be a great value to the allied forces, being seen as the "Lucidia of the Central Realm of Light." Eastern Cloud, like the Heartless Empire focus on a manpower-centric doctrine of combat but retaining a degree of mobility. Focusing on shock and awe and utilizing their immense reserves of manpower, Eastern Cloud's expeditionary forces focused on mechanized infantry and powerful infantry to launch strong counter offensives against the Lucidians. This was the form of combat used by the Allied Forces in the Western Front during the counter-offensives of the second half of April and into May. The mastermind behind this offensive form of combat was Sun Yuming, Commander-in-Chief of the Xianese Imperial Army, and it was his tactics that earned him accolades from all allied nations. The Republic of Jovia The Republic of Jovia was the one nation that suffered the most during the initial blitzkrieg, suffering the loss of 95% of its worlds and the near annihilation of its entire military of roughly three million soldiers. For the rest of the war, Jovia had to rely on the use of the Mercenaries from the PMC, Signs. Ironically it was one of its mercenaries, a top notch Keyblade Wielder from Jovia named Louis Hunter who would go on to be dubbed as "Demon Lord" and "the Man who won the Lucidian War" Their military doctrine followed along similar lines to Lucidia but was more focused on defense than offense. The Kingdom of Gran Leon The Kingdom of Gran Leon provided the largest force of the minor powers, sending in 10 million to fight alongsidde the Allied Forces. Leon's defensive capability proved more effective than Jovia's, only losing a fifth of its land to the Lucidian occupation. The key to this staunch defense lay in it's Keyblade Order, and its members of the Four Horsemen of Leon. The Four Horsemen were a group of eight Keyblade Masters divided into four 2-man teams: Espada (Sword), Escudo (Shield), Lanza (Lace) & Armadura (Armor). All four served with distinction during the counter-offensive and the South Lucidian Campaign. Other Allied Forces The Various Allied Forces who took part in the conflict, consisting of, among others: Brunies, Gebetia, Nascita, Vinland & Plantagenia, make up for roughly two million soldiers, and served in a superficial role in the conflict. Lucidian Blitzkrieg Initial Invasions Rumblings on the Jovian Front Category:Wars (UW) Category:Unsungverse Category:Kingdom Hearts: Confessions of a Knight